Balanced/Open Chakra: When the crown chakra is balanced, you are connected to your higher self and the Divine consciousness. You are spiritually aware that everything is interconnected and are able to experience the oneness with everyone and everything. You are able to transcend above the ego and manifest purpose from your higher self. Not only do you understand that everything happens for a reason but you are open to receiving the answers of why. You are highly intuitive and gain great wisdom from your life experiences. You are selflessly devoted to the wellbeing of others and their spiritual health. You tend to be sensitive to energy and vibration. You trust the universal process and how it leads and guides your life.

Underactive: If your crown chakra is underactive or closed you feel like you lack purpose in life. You separate yourself from things and tend to have an "it's all meaningless" outlook on life. You may feel unloved or angry at "God" and constantly find things or people to blame outside of yourself. It's hard for you to grasp new ideas and you may feel a creative block. You tend to have a negative outlook on situations that have happened in your life. You have no desire to discover your inner-self, or look for a higher purpose. You may feel or seem to others as clueless of anything spiritual. You tend to be clumsy, have poor balance, and co-ordination difficulties. You hold on to difficult things in life and they build and consume your way of thinking.

Overactive: If your crown chakra is overactive, you tend to be someone who may have a lot of knowledge but do not make the connections to process it as it relates to you on a deeper spiritual level. You may intellectualize things too much. You tend to possess a superior/god-complex and think that you are better than others. You have a hard time grounding yourself. Your ego stays ahead of you and you have a hard time letting things go because of it. Your judgements tend to be based solely on facts and you are not open to spiritual conclusions or explanations.

The Crown Chakra is where our body makes the connection to the Universal Life Source. Many call this source God, Higher Power, the Divine, and the like. Through this chakra we experience unity with our higher selves and our divine purpose in life. It allows us to understand that there is a higher purpose in all things and that everything connects on deeper and spiritual levels.

The one factor that stops us from enlightenment is the ego. The ego is the person your perceive yourself to be, the illusion of oneself. The ego is the protective layer built from fear through experiences in our childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. It stems from the subconscious mind. The problem with the ego is that it separates itself from everything. It is constantly in competition, always wanting to be right and never wrong, and be in control of all things. It is the "I" consciousness and thinks only of self preservation. The ego tends to be judgmental and because of this separatism fails to move into higher energies to understand things on a deeper and more connected level. It often personalizes events and holds on to everything building yet another layer. As you continue to allow the ego to grow, it becomes more challenging to let go of ideals and beliefs that we built to protect the ego, which weighs us down. The ego will label things, such as good or bad. It seeks things to satisfy itself and rejects things that don't. It leaves a person on a constant cycle and range of emotions, from highs and lows. The ego stops us from growing until it is broken and re-evaluated and humbled from the connection made through the higher self.

You must learn to recognize your ego self. It is not 'bad' but becomes a problem when it controls you and you think that your ego self is your true self. When you learn to recognize it, you can then work in harmony with it. There is a delicate balance between the ego and the higher self. It helps us to identify that we are different, unique, and individual, while the higher self keeps it humble enough to stay connected. You must question yourself and your motivations. Are they selfish or selfless? Are you showing your true self or a mask? To humble your ego you must learn the art of detachment. You must detach from control, fears, pain, ideas, and beliefs. You must know that all things happen for a reason and as they should. The Universe does not make mistakes, it just is. You will then find peace and learn to trust the process thus allowing the exchange of energy from the Universe in through the crown chakra that resonates throughout the rest of the body and the other chakras.

How to Balance

To bring the Crown Chakra into balance, meditation and letting go of the ego are the first key steps.

9. Choose foods that are healthy and avoid processed foods. Consume less meat and other foods that have been chemically processed. Drinking lots of water and natural detoxing will help keep this chakra healthy.